


Coffee Shops to Movie Screens

by HufflepunkAuthor



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: 'cause Michael, Actor Ryan Haywood, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Barista Michael Jones, College Student Michael Jones, Fluff, I'll add characters as they appear in the story - Freeform, M/M, Meet-Cute, Swearing, coffee shop AU, dumb idiots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 23:03:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20514950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HufflepunkAuthor/pseuds/HufflepunkAuthor
Summary: Michael is a college student working at a local café to get by. Ryan is an actor aiming for the big screen, but so far hasn't gotten quite that far. But, he's been casted in a new TV show that's filming in a little college town, near to a quant little coffee shop. Ryan and Michael meet and slowly fall for one another.Just aiming to have a longer fluff piece for my favorite boys.





	Coffee Shops to Movie Screens

Michael curses himself for the millionth time for staying up late playing video games with his friends as he rushes to get ready for work after waking up late. He doesn’t bother really making himself look presentable, simply makes sure to grab a tee-shirt that doesn’t have any swear words on it, a pair of jeans with as least obvious stains as possible, and throws a beanie over his hair, rather than actually messing with it. He barely has time to tie his shoes before he has run out the door. Luckily his job isn’t fair away, but he does have to run the whole way to make it on time. 

He busts through the back entrance to the little coffee shop and is hit by the smell of brewing coffee. The smell instantly makes him slightly less sleepy – that, combined with the adrenaline of sprinting to work. He catches his breath as he clocks in, he ties the mandatory apron around himself and washes his hands before heading out behind the counter. 

“Hey, Jeremy,” he says flatly to his coworker, hearing how exhausted his voice sounds. 

“Rough night?” Jeremy jokes, knowing full well that he was up on his Xbox for hours later than he should have. 

“Shut up.” 

“There’s a reason I got off the server early, Michael,” Jeremy continues as Michael glares at him. “Maybe you’ll learn your lesson this time; sleep is important.” he finishes. 

“Jeremy,” Michael says, “shut up.” 

Jeremy laughs and shakes his head, not edging him on further as a customer walked into the shop. Jeremy nods his head to the register, telling Michael it’s his turn to take orders. 

Michael sighs, but knows full well he has to, so he tries to push any remaining sleepiness from his mind. Michael takes in the customer’s appearance off-handedly, just noticing dirty blond hair under a baseball cap, striking blue eyes behind glasses, and a tee shirt with some science joke on it pulled over what looks like a well toned chest. He ignores any not entirely pure thoughts that may or may not have come to mind and puts on his best customer service smile and voice to greet the man. 

“Good morning, what can I get started for you?” Michael says, using his well practiced script. 

“Um… morning.” The man pauses for a second, his eyes drawn over to the display case of baked goods, before he fixes them back on Michael, “Well honestly, I don’t know a whole lot about coffee, except that I like it really sweet and really, well, the only reason I came in was the smell of what ever is baking, it… smells amazing.” He flashes a smile at Michael. 

It doesn’t go unnoticed by Michael how attractive that smile makes the man look, but he simply goes on with his script, “Well, that would be our famous home-made chocolate chip cookies,” he glances behind himself to look at the oven before continuing, “And they’ll be done in five minutes if you want to wait for ‘em.” 

“Um, sure,” the man replies, “I have some time.” 

“Sounds good,” Michael punches it into the computer, “And for the coffee, what kind of flavors do you like?” 

“I’m always a sucker for caramel,” he says with another wide smile. 

Michael’s return smile was small, but his first real one of the day, “Okay, how about a caramel latte, then? Small, medium, or large? And hot or cold?” 

“Sounds good,” He repeats back to him and Michael’s smile grows, leaving them smiling at each other dumbly before he finally awkwardly finishes speaking, “Um, and large and hot, please.” 

“And your name for the order?” 

“Ryan.” 

“Okay, Ryan, we’ll call when it’s ready and I’ll call when the cookies are done,” Michael smiles his customer service smile at him. 

“Thanks.” Ryan starts to turn to walk away, but he stops and turns back, “Um, and thank you,” he pauses to read the name tag on Michael’s shirt, “Michael. That was probably the easiest experience I’ve ever had ordering coffee, you made that really, super easy.” 

The complement catches Michael off guard, leading to an awkward, “Oh, um, yeah, sure, you’re welcome, no problem,” to come tumbling out of his mouth. 

Ryan smiles at him, a wide, winning smile and walks away, leaving Michael staring at where he was standing for just a second before he kicks himself out his dumb thoughts. 

Michael quickly checks out the next customer on auto-pilot, and if his gaze shifts over to look at where Ryan is sitting a couple times, well, Michael would never admit it. 

The oven timer goes off and Michael double checks no one had come in while he wasn’t paying attention, then he heads back to pull the cookies out. He sets the tray on the counter and grabs an extra baking tray and uses it to fan the cookies. In the back of his mind, Michael realizes this was weird for him. He never usually bothers to cool anything off quickly, even when a customer is waiting on something. And if a customer were to come up and bug him about it, he would put on his kindest customer service voice, stifle his anger, and explain it’s company policy to wait for the bakery items to cool before selling them – which is complete bullshit, he just didn’t want to possibly burn himself trying to get things out to customers too fast. And the second he has the slightest thought as to why he would be going out of his way for this particular customer, he shuts all those thoughts down and shoves them very far away. 

He gently picks up the still warm cookie on a spatula and slid it into a bag. Then walks to the counter and calls out Ryan’s name. 

Ryan is quick to hop up from the table he's sitting at, his drink and phone left behind without a second thought. 

“I can’t wait to try it! It just smells amazing!” Ryan says excitedly, taking the bag from Michael. 

“Yes, you said that already…” Michael replies, with an amused smile on his face. 

“Oh… sorry,” Ryan says, then takes a large bite from the cookie and almost instantly lets out a loud ‘Mmmm’. “This, this is so good!” He says as he swallows. 

Michael smiles, “Glad you think so, I always love hearing people like the stuff I make.” 

“Wait, you made these? They’re actually homemade?” Ryan asks before taking his next bite. 

“Yeah, my coworker put them in the oven this morning, but I made the batter yesterday. All from scratch.” 

Ryan speaks with his mouth half full, “That’s super impressive!” 

Michael laughs, “Yeah, my manger thought the same thing when he figured out I was okay at baking. But, he pays me extra to stay and make stuff, so it’s not all bad.” 

Ryan was finishing the rest of his cookie by the time Michael is done talking. 

Michael laughs again, “Wow, that was gone quick,” he quips. 

Ryan smiles sheepishly, “Well, I wasn’t lying, it was really, really good. Honestly, probably the best classic chocolate chip cookie I’ve had in ages.” 

Michael laughs and, before he really knows what he’s doing, says, “Flattery will get you everywhere, here, have another one, on the house.”  
He turns around to start bagging up a second one and hears Ryan protest, “Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly, really you don’t have to go through the trouble…” 

Michael turns back around and scans to room to make sure there isn’t any other customers in ear-shot, he speaks slightly quieter than they were talking before, “Look man, you talked them up so well you must really like them, so just take the fucking cookie.” 

Ryan has a slight blush on his face as a he extends his arm to take the bag. He pauses for a moment before a slightly devilish grin works its way over his face, “You know, that coffee was also really amazing, truly a masterpiece of a drink…” 

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Michael rolls his eyes, making Ryan crack up. 

“Just kidding, just kidding…” Ryan says as he laughs. He quickly looks to the watch he is wearing, he frowns and says, “Hey, I really gotta get going. Thank you, so much, for the extra cookie and… for the great company.” The light blush returns to his face as well as the kind smile. 

Michael, ignoring the feeling of his own face heating up and what must be a dorky smile on his face, replies, “Anytime, man.” 

“Ryan, you can call me Ryan.” He says before turning and walking back to his table to collect the things he left. 

“Okay… Ryan,” Micheal said quietly to his back. 

Michael silently watches Ryan walk out; at the door he turns around and waves at Michael, and Michael waves back with that same goofy smile on his face. At the sound of a customer clearing their throat to get his attention Michael makes himself to get back to work. 

…

Michael throws his body down on his couch seconds after he walks in the door to his dorm room. He ended up staying late at work to make the batter of the cake the café will be serving tomorrow, then while baking he lost track of time – which happens more often than Michael would admit, so he ended up having to sprint all the way to class and still ended up arriving late. 

He decided the gym could go fuck itself today hours ago, and allows himself to absentmindedly click through the channels on the TV. He ends up watching the end half an episode of some crappy drama-sitcom-occult show, the storyline interesting and weird enough to keep him moderately entertained and just curious enough to not change the channel. Something about one of the main characters – “Emery” – seems familiar, but he couldn’t quite place what show he had seen him in before; and after the day he had, he doesn’t bother to think very hard about it. 

Michael finds himself openly laughing at the comedy relief and at the slightly shitty CGI of the magic the characters are using, and when the show hits a “dramatic” moment and the camera zooms in on Emery’s eyes, he gets lost in them for moment, and when he episode ends he thinks he might purposely search for it next week. 

He lets the end screen credits play, too lazy to reach for the remote, and sees the actor who plays Emery is named James Haywood. He thinks harder this time but that name rings no bells whatsoever, so he quickly lets it go. 

Michael finally reaches over and turns off the TV after it starts playing re-runs of some other crappy occult show, something about a pair of brothers in some fancy black car “hunting” monsters and looking for their dad, according to the “Previously On…” anyway. 

Michael pushes off the couch and only bothers to barely wash his face and teeth, before he collapses in bed and is dead to the world for a solid ten hours. 

…

Michael manages to arrive at work early the next day, which gives him time to truly indulge in his favorite part of his job: baking. He always prefers to bake when he’s alone, he doesn’t feel like he has to hide any smiles or humming that may occur when he’s caught up in it. He just gets to relax, work with his hands, and focus on one single thing. 

He first puts the cake mix he had made the day prior in the oven, then sets to making a new one for tomorrow. He let himself just work, hum, and think. 

Michael had, at some point between last night and the time he was done making his new cake mix, excepted that he would most likely never see Ryan again. After all, in the three years Michael has lived in his little college town, he had never seen Ryan before. He was probably just some kind stranger, passing by for whatever reason. And Michael thought that was fine, sure maybe he had left an impression on Michael, maybe, a tiny bit. But, whatever, some nice, one time occurrence was fine, Michael forced himself to believe. 

By the time Michael’s cake was done baking, his coworker had arrived and the coffee shop was opened. They had to focus all their attention on the morning rush that comes with the turf of working in a coffee shop. 

Michael eventually got a break in customers long enough to bring his attention back to his cake. He collected his supplies and set to finish preparing the cake. He cut it into neat, even squares, then he started to frost each one individually. He hears the bell above the door ring in signal of a customer coming in. 

“I’ll be right with you!” He calls over his shoulder without actually looking up. He wipes off the frosting spatula on the lip of the bowl holding the unused frosting and sets it down on some spare parchment paper. He wipes his hands on his apron and turns around. 

“Ryan!” He says in shock before he can stop himself. He instantly regrets it, he always makes sure to never let a customer know if he remembers them until they’ve been returning for months. He always hates how uncomfortable it is when a server or retail worker calls him by his name like they’re best friends. 

“Hey Michael, good morning,” Ryan says easily with a smile. 

Michael gets caught between apologizing and continuing on like nothing happened and ends up with: “I’m, ugh, yeah, good morning, man. Um, cool to see you again.” 

Ryan chuckles under his breath and replies, “Yeah, you too.” 

“Um, what can I get started for you?” 

“Whatever caramel coffee… latte drink… thing-y, that, uh… you had me get yesterday, that was good.” 

Now it’s Michael’s turn to laugh at Ryan, “Okay, I think I understood what that meant.” 

Ryan makes a face at him, “Anyway, did I see you frosting something when I walked in?” He pushes up on his tip toes to look over Michael’s shoulder where the cake is sitting. 

“Yup, that would be our lemon cake I baked this morning,” Ryan’s eyes light up at Michael’s words, “Would you like a piece?” 

Ryan smiles wide, “Oh, would I ever.” Michael could swear he hears a twang of some country accent in Ryan’s voice. 

“Okay, I’ll call you when it’s ready, then.” 

“Thanks, Michael.” Ryan smiles and walks to a free table. 

There aren’t any customers behind Ryan, so Michael makes the coffee himself this time, then he puts a piece of cake on a plate. He takes one in each hand and a deep breath to steady himself to go through with his decision. 

“Jeremy, I’m taking my break,” he says before walking across the room to Ryan’s table. 

Ryan looks up when he senses Michael’s presence, “Hey?” he says with a question in his tone. 

Michael wordlessly sets down his coffee, then the cake. 

“You know, as much as I appreciate this, you can just call my name…” 

Then Michael plops himself down in the chair across from Ryan. 

“Um, okay.” 

“I want to hear the verdict,” Michael says, gesturing to the cake, “I was late to class yesterday ‘cause I was making it, I want to make sure it was worth the trouble.” 

“You… were?” Ryan asks slowly. 

“Don’t worry about it, my own fault,” he waves his hand dismissively, “Now…” he gestures to the cake again. 

Ryan laughs and shrugs his shoulders, “Well, if you insist.” He takes a bite and closes his eyes. He then smiles and slowly nods while chewing. 

Michael smiles, “You like it?” he asks, mostly to fill up the silence. 

Ryan nods quickly and swallows, “Michael,” he reaches over and places his hand over Michael’s, “you, truly, have a gift. That tastes… magical.” 

Michael can feel the blush heating his cheeks and he can’t stop the dumb smile on his face, “Thanks,” he says quietly as he looks down at their overlapping hands. 

Ryan then seems to realize he had started holding hands with Michael and clears his throat as he pulls his hand away. Then promptly shoves two bites of cake his mouth, making Michael break out laughing and successfully killing the mood from before. 

Ryan coughs a bit as he manages to get all the food down, “So, you’re a student? At the college?” 

“Oh, yeah,” Michael feels a bit dumb for giving that information away, “I am.” 

“What are you studying?” Ryan asks, conversationally. 

Michael pauses wondering if he should own up to his theater degree or not, he decides to just bite the bullet, “Uh, filmography… and theater.” 

“No way!” Ryan says excitedly, “I—” Ryan was cut off by his phone ringing loudly, “Jeez, sorry, hang on,” he says before answering. 

Michael listens to the half of the conversation he can hear. “Yeah? Oh, that’s not good… Oh… oh, okay… Yeah, sure… Like fifteen minuets, twenty tops. See you.” Ryan hung up his cell. He looks at Michael with an apology ready on his lips. 

“No, it’s fine. Don’t even apologize, you’re good.” Michael says before Ryan can even start. 

“How do you know me so well?” Ryan more says than asks, with a smirk on his face. 

Michael doesn’t know how to respond to that, so he just watches Ryan pack up his stuff. 

Ryan stands up from his seat, then waits a beat, as if gathering up some courage, before reaching out to grab Michael’s hand once again and saying, “See you next time, Michael.” He squeezes his hand before letting go and walking out. 

“See you, Ryan…”

**Author's Note:**

> I always love any feedback! ...even though I rarely reply. 
> 
> Thanks for bothering to read.


End file.
